Continuous casting of steel is a very demanding process. It is characterized by a harsh environment which is very corrosive with very high temperatures, and contains plenty of cooling water, water steam, casting salt etcetera. Due to these circumstances, the mechanical components of a continuous casting machine has to be rigorously designed to withstand such difficult conditions.
A continuous casting machine comprises a plurality of roll lines designed to support a moving steel strand which is produced from molten steel that has been poured from a ladle into a tundish in the top of the machine. During the process the steel strand solidifies and in the end an elongated steel profile exits the machine, which is subsequently cut or divided into shorter lengths. During the solidification process, water is sprayed onto the steel strand and the supporting roll lines.
Particularly critical components in the continuous casting machine are the rolling bearings which are rotatably supporting the roll mantles and/or roll bodies of the roll lines. In order to extend the service life of the rolling bearings it is known to make use of seal cassettes to seal off the spaces that contain the rolling bearings. Such seal cassettes has to be designed for the very harsh conditions in order to withstand the high temperatures, the casting salt and the present water and water steam. In addition, there are also other particles that needs to be sealed off from the spaces containing the rolling bearings. For example, during the process metal scale or metal flakes might loosen from the steel strand. It has been realized that such scale or flakes can be very harming for the sealing function.